Netherlands tourist visa (Schengen type C)

NetherlandsWorldwide publishes a checklist for each country where you can apply. Beyond the form and passport, expect to show proof of ties to your country of residence (employment, business or studies), accommodation, recent bank statements and payslips, a travel reservation and insurance.

The reference amount is EUR 55 per person per day, including minors, applied flexibly. Your own statements, a relative who pays for you, or a Dutch host's sponsorship can prove it.

You lodge the application at the Dutch embassy or consulate responsible for your place of legal residence, or at the external service provider it uses. Applicants who gave fingerprints for a Schengen visa in the past 59 months may not need to appear again, and some missions then accept a file lodged by someone else with a signed authorisation; children under 12 give no fingerprints. Ask where you apply how the passport is returned, keep the reference number to track the file, and report errors on the visa sticker to the mission straight away.

Apply up to six months and at least 15 days before travel. Most people apply in person, including children; whether someone else can lodge the file for you depends on the mission and on whether your fingerprints were taken in the last 59 months.

A refusal letter states the reasons. You can lodge a free objection (bezwaar) with the IND within four weeks, counted from the day after the decision. Write in Dutch, English, German or French to IND Visadienst, Postbus 2, 9560 AA Ter Apel, or by secure e-mail, with your name, date of birth, address, the date, why the decision is wrong, your signature, a copy of the decision and translated supporting documents; for a family or friends visit the host can object online instead. The IND decides within six weeks, extendable by six, although objections currently take about six months. If you win, you collect the visa where you applied and must enter within six months; if not, you can appeal to court. You can also simply apply again with the missing documents, but the visa fee and any service fee are not refunded.